| All your favorite classic candies - Dubble Bubble, Runts, Crunch, Baby Ruth, Laffy Taffy, Nerds, and lots more! For men, women, and children. |
UPDATE: We did a video review of these products. Watch it here.
Have you ever wanted to try haggis, but you just can’t seem to make it to Scotland for some of that entrails-y goodness? Or, have you ever wanted to experience tapeworm, but you just can’t find the time to hunt down that parasite? If this sounds like you, Archie McPhee has the answer! For a scant $4.95 a piece, you can treat yourself to one of these gastronomical delights.
The nature of the candy business lends itself well to creativity in advertising. Candy is fun, whimsical, and happiness-inducing. It makes sense that the advertising should be a reflection of those characteristics which make us all love candy so much.
Sometimes they overshoot a bit and miss the mark (Starburst’s Little Lad anyone? And how about that Skittles commercial with the nightmarish singing rabbit?). At this point all I can ask for is a good laugh, and to not be too horrified.
While this Cadbury Dairy Milk commercial by A Glass and a Half Full Productions sits on the border of Creepytown, it still cracks me up. What an anthropomorphic gorilla has to do with chocolate bars I couldn’t tell you. It doesn’t make me crave Cadbury Dairy Milk so much as it makes me crave Phil Collins’ Greatest Hits. Judging by Cadbury Dairy Milk Gorilla’s face as he “feels” the music, I think he agrees with me.
More candy articles about: cadbury, chocolate, commercial, video
There are many happy unions in the Candy World. Some candy pairs just seem made for each other: chocolate & peanut butter, chocolate & mint, hard candy & bubble gum, strawberry & banana, black licorice & the garbage can… the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, the new Wonka SweeTARTS Rope with Nerds filling is no such union. In fact, it seems to be a marriage of convenience in the Wonka family of products.
The Wonka SweeTARTS Rope consists of a red, chewy gummi tunnel filled with a blue liquid and rainbow Nerds candy. Each package contains two candy ropes, about seven inches long. In my packages of SweeTARTS Ropes, some of the blue liquid candy escaped from the gummy canal and leaked into the bag. This is likely because they came in the mail, but it is worth mentioning because it is rather messy situation.
Luckily, one of the packages is in good condition with not much escaped blue goo. The gummy rope of each SweeTARTS Rope candy is a thick, cherry-flavored tube. The blue liquid inside each one is the consistency of paste. Classics Nerds candy is embedded in the blue paste. I’ll now break down the flavors, part by part.
When the long school day was over, the afternoon bus seemed like a sanctuary. True, there were always spit balls to dodge, boys to avoid, and backpacks to trip over. Despite these hazards, I welcomed the world of the school bus for one particular reason: it was prime candy trading time.
Once we settled in for the drive home, my bus companions and I would whip out our respective stashes and embark on a journey through a smörgåsbord of sweets. The candies that would appear most frequently from our backpacks were Fireballs, Red Hots, Jolly Ranchers, Warheads and Blow Pops.
Blow Pops were always a favorite because they combined lollipops with gum, which was forbidden both in school and on the bus. We would consume the Blow Pops with gusto, giddy with our secret rebellion. It was with this same excitement that I approached a bag of Blow Pop Minis - the “Blow Pop with NO Stick.” How would my Blow Pop experience fare now that I was no longer encumbered with a stick?
Okay, I confess. I am addicted to gum and mints. I can’t help myself. I pop one after I eat, while I am driving in the car, at my desk, and in the movie theater. My addiction knows no bounds. I am having one right now! Don’t judge me. I know I am not the only one who loves the feeling of minty fresh breath anytime, anywhere. For people like me, Wrigley is here to help.
There have been many developments in gum technology over the years. We have seen gum that whitens, gum that fights tooth decay, gum that gives you more energy and gum that comes in six feet of bubble tape (for you, not them). Adding to this growing market of dual-purpose gum, Wrigley has developed a patent for metallic gum.
In the 6th grade, the curse of alphabetical seating forced me to sit next to a boy named Jason who was my constant tormentor. His favorite pastimes included scribbling on my homework papers, throwing small wads of paper at me during class, and calling me “Rachel Pachel” (my name does not lend itself well to rhyming taunts). All of these annoyances paled in comparison to Jason’s main passion.
He loved nothing more than to spend class eating lip balm. You heard me—eating it. Usually he brought his own Chapstick for this. However, he greatly preferred my Cotton Candy flavored Bonne Bell lip balm (with just a hint of sparkle). Jason would sneak into my backpack, extract my lip balm, and munch away on his waxy snack.
Giving a child something that makes noise is usually something you regret later, whether it is a toy, musical instrument or candy. Have you ever heard an energetic toddler with a toy drum? Ten minutes later, that little drummer boy is no longer as cute. Whistle pops are no exception to this rule, as my parents would come to find out.
Every day when he came home from work, my father would bring a new candy for my younger brother and me to sample. One day, the candy of choice was whistle pops. My brother and I were awestruck. A toy and candy in one! Our young minds could not fathom the creative genius that could have made such an item. It quickly became one of our favorites.
No longer content with his attempts at domination in the spheres of real estate, steaks, men’s clothing, reality television, and follicular architecture, Donald Trump has decided to branch out into the world of candy. That’s right, boys and girls. Trump has opened a candy store.
Named simply Candy, the new store is part of Trump Taj Mahal’s new retail and dining extravaganza, Spice Road. Joining the similarly named Burger, Freeze, Go, and Plate, Candy is part of the massive overhaul and expansion of Trump’s Atlantic City resort and casino planned to continue for the next few years.
Candy opened this past spring, hoping to appeal to the masses of late night casino goers craving a sweet celebratory treat, or wanting to wallow in their losses with bulk gourmet candy. Either way, Trump’s store boasts an impressive array of confections in a space with bright, colorful, modern decor. The selection at the store includes assorted gourmet chocolates, fudge, truffles, jelly beans, macaroons, cookies and “old time favorites.” Gift baskets and boxes are also available.
While I am loathe to support the “comb over-ed one,” I must admit that the store looks like a lot of delicious fun. If you’re in Atlantic City, it might be worth your time to take a trip over to Candy. After all, Trump’s hair is a feat of structural engineering the likes of which we may never see again; if he put half as much effort into his candy store, we Candy Addicts can rest assured we will come away satisfied.
PS - If you’re in Atlantic City, you can also check out IT’SUGAR, “the first department store of candy.”
More candy articles about: store, Atlantic City
When I was a kid, I used to love to go to this zoo that was not far from my house. Space Farms was not only a zoo, but a museum as well, so my mom could feel especially educational when she took my younger brother and me there. The zoo was obviously very cool, boasting a considerable collection of wildlife for rural New Jersey (It’s not an Urban Myth! Rural areas do exist in New Jersey!), including the world’s largest grizzly bear (R.I.P. Goliath).
I would suffer through the museum portion of our trip because there was a light at the end of the tunnel of seemingly endless antiques that my eight year old mind found tedious. After you left the museum, there was a penny candy store that sold old-fashioned candies. I usually got a few candy sticks, red licorice rope, or rock candy.
Rock candy was always a favorite of mine because I love sugar, especially when colored, and let’s face it, rock candy is all sugar. It came both on little swizzle sticks and on strings, though I liked the sticks best because it was much easier to eat the candy that way.
Looking back, rock candy was certainly not the most exciting candy compared with all that was out there. I mean, it did only taste like sugar, and not my favorite childhood flavors of “pink” and “blue”. However, it had an old-fashioned charm coming from that penny candy store, and it looked really cool. I always loved the idea that someone had to grow that candy for me to eat it, like some sort of mad scientist.
When I found out that I could grow my own rock candy, my young mind almost imploded. I could grow an endless supply of my very own candy! The only problem with this was finding an adult that I could trick into helping me do it. Luckily for me, my grandmother could be talked into almost any ill-advised project if it was in the name of my education (baking soda volcano anyone?).
So, my grandmother helped me gather the supplies for my latest “science project” and we attempted to make our own rock candy. I wish I could tell you that my experiment was a success. Unfortunately, the rock candy I grew looked terribly mutated. I’m talking Chernobyl mutated. At least it still tasted good.
Buy Rock Candy online:
- at Candy Direct
- at Amazon.com
- at Old Time Candy
- at Candy Crate
Have you ever wanted to own your own candy shop? Imagine, gazing at the veritable rainbow of candies all around you, just waiting to be eaten. You could dole out candy into a little bag, weigh it, stick a bow on it and send it on its way to be enjoyed by a fellow Candy Addict. Or, you could hide behind the counter, secretly sampling your merchandise. For quality control purposes, of course.
Well, now that dream can become a reality (sort of) thanks to “My First Candy Shop!” Within a diminutive plastic carrying case you will find all the things you need to have your very own mini candy shop! The kit includes a tiny working scale, teensy scoop, little plastic bags, and a small container filled with multi-colored candies that look a lot like Tart-n-Tinys, though I suspect they taste much more generic, and not nearly as delicious.
For me, the likelihood that I will enjoy something increases exponentially if it has been miniaturized to adorable proportions (this rule does not apply to mini candy bars, which are not so much adorable as they are infuriating). This is why I find the mini candy store especially appealing. If you had some tiny friends, like the Keebler Elves, you could invite them over for some candy. Maybe negotiate a trade for some of their cookies. Or, you could pretend you were a giant, dwarfing “My First Candy Shop” with your extreme size! Not that I have ever done anything like that. I certainly never terrorized my little sister’s Polly Pocket Village, Godzilla style. Ahem, moving on.
Even if the candy is not the tastiest, “My First Candy Shop” is really adorable and that’s enough for me. After all, can you really put a price on cute? Apparently you can, and that price is $2.99!
Buy “My First Candy Shop” online:
- at Stupid.com
- in bulk at Candy Direct
More candy articles about: toys
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